Regarding my grounding the other day, Mandy had this to say: "I think hitting a rock (and this time, not causing serious damage to the boat) is a message to him to lighten up on his shipmate...."
I knew there was going to be some sort of smug response coming there (although I will remind her that we're basically tied; it's not like she wasn't on deck or participating last time around, and she has run aground before all by herself), which must be satisfying in some regard, but to me, just seems to illustrate that perhaps neither of us should be out doing this together. If I'm not careful enough (obviously, I'm not) and she is less careful than I am, then that's sort of a bad combination, isn't it? It would be nice to have someone competent on board. This is at the very least, after all, our home we're talking about here.
It's also far too early to assert, as she did, that there is no significant damage. That sort of collision can cause significant damage to the keel, weakening it or straining to bolts in ways that don't cause leaks, but which can lead to catastrophic failure later on (there is a somewhat well-known incident that happened in the Gulf of Mexico of this sort where most of the crew was lost). Or, the keel can be bent or twisted out of true, costing tens of thousands to repair. Until the boat comes out of the water (which we were, fortunately, planning to do this spring anyway) there's no way of knowing.
This, no doubt, will be added to the "overkill" list of severe lectures on safety and caution that I give.
3 comments:
That... is totally ridiculous. Not to downplay the significance of running aground, but given the changing currents, shifting bottom conditions, and potential uncharted obstacles doesn't it stand to reason that at some point people are simply going to run aground? There is a significant amount of boat hanging down below the waterline after all. Otherwise there would never have been a need to design a shoal draft keel. My guess is that any significant number of people who haven't actually stuck it in the mud at some point or other are the ones who rarely if ever leave the dock. Of course you should be out there.
Well, sure, if there were changing currents, shifting bottom conditions, or uncharted obstacles there... but we're talking about one of the most popular destinations in the Gulf Islands. There is pretty much zero chance it hasn't been charted accurately, my eyeballing it notwithstanding. I'm fully prepared to write off the unforeseeable, but this didn't exactly happen during an exploration of distant and unexplored waters.
We agree with Maxx & Mandy. Remember the old sailor saying "It's not if you go aground, it's when".
I have no idea where you learned to be so hard on yourself.
Mom
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